Mallow, Malva neglecta comes from a famous family, Malvaceae, which includes hollyhocks, hibiscus, rose of sharon, marshmallow, okra and cotton, with the last one being the only one you can’t eat. Mallow is the little weed that hides unnoticed in almost every lawn. It keeps getting chopped off before it can flower. Years ago, we learned the full story by grabbing a tiny little weed out of the lawn, transplanting it to the edge of a garden, and waiting through one year, into the next when it reached a full 12 inches or so in height and bloomed. Right now, there’s a much more substantial mallow which has survived the winter on the south side of the barn.

The entire plant, roots, leaves and flowers is edible, though the stems are pretty fibrous, and you could skip trying to chew those up. Seed pods are known as cheesies, because they look like a cheese wheel, and some very patient people gather those little things and pickle them as a substitute for capers. The pods are quite nutritious, but pretty tiny so they’re a lot of work to gather.

Malva neglecta is the most common and widely distributed member of the mallows in our midwest region. It’s low growing, and depending on where it is, can act like an annual, a biennial or a perennial. It spreads readily by seed, and though it’s not the biggest, easiest food and medicine of its family, it’s the Free one that you can find every year in garden borders, sidewalks, disturbed ground, lawns, fields and fencerows. It has sturdy deep roods, and can tolerate more dryness than marshmallow and hollyhock. Until we collect our own pics of the full lifecycle, we’ll depend upon some links to show you the details. For further motivation, this weed actually tastes good, and combinations can help you out with the palatability of some other wild edibles. The hairs covering both sides of these leaves, are so tiny that they won’t affect the mouthfeel, unlike those of the marshmallow, seen further down.

Working through mallow botany, this member of the family malvaceae has single rounded leaves with palmate veins, on each elongated leaf stalk. Leaves range from less than an inch to 2.5 inches across, and are shallowly lobed with somewhat rounded, (crenate) teeth. Stems and leaf stalks (petioles) like the leaves, bear many fine hairs. Several blooms, on shorter flower stalks, emerge from the axilla, where the leaf stalk and stem join. Find some great pics of this, and seed pods at commonsensehome.com. More useful pics can be found here and here. Flowers, average about 1/2 inch across, appearing in late spring to autumn, may be white with pinkish streaks, light pink, or very light purple, bearing 5 notched petals, and protected by 5 sepals. They are capable of self pollination, and prolific generation of seeds. You will see the relatedness of mallows, hollyhocks, and hibiscus as you watch their flowers form and open up. The seed pods form as distinctive, 5 segmented, flattened wheels, which mature to yield seeds with high protein and fat content.

Mallow is polymorphous depending upon growing conditions. If it’s growing in dry clay, the plant will shoot up a single stem and flower quickly, to get ‘er done. In more favorable soil and water conditions, many stems will elongate to 2 feet or so along the ground, blooming like crazy, roots will stretch to China, and you had better start eating before it takes over the world.

There are about 25 close relatives of our little Malva neglecta, but this is the most common one in our midwest region. Another common one, Malva sylvestris, has much darker pink flowers, and a more upright growing habit. No worries about toxicity if you mix the mallows up a little. Medicinally, they are very similar, with differences being mainly in yield of the chemical constituents. Many herbalists consider the Alcea, Althea, Malva, and Hibiscus genera to be highly overlapping in utility, with some of these plants being highly studied, and in regular medical use in other parts of the world.

The entire mallow plant is edible. Roots should be cut up fresh, then let the pieces dry (and get really rock hard). Leaves and flowers are edible raw or cooked. They serve to thicken any liquid to which they are added, in the same manner as the related okra, which is the slimiest of vegetables. In cooking, mallow leaves can go anywhere the spinach would go, to supply iron, zinc and various vitamins. Flowers and seed pods can be sprinkled in your salad.

Roots and leaves contain a good deal of mucilaginous polysaccharides which are famous for protection and healing of mucous membranes, and for soothing inflammations and coughs. It is recommended to avoid high heat when extracting the mucilage into water, so that you retain all the beneficial ingredients.

Medicinal uses of Malva neglecta have traditionally included treatment of mouth pain, abdominal pain, ulcers, intestinal disorders, hemorrhoids, coughs, diabetes, kidney stones, inflammation in the GI, urinary and respiratory tracts, tension, wound care, infertility and abortion. (This last usage appears to have involved the physical insertion of the root(s), so there is not an issue with normal applications. )

Chemical constituents of Malva neglecta include a low-yield total of about 40 essential oils, including the 4 most prominent: cineole, tetratriacontane, tetratetracontane and α‐selinene. Other constituents include flavonols, flavonoids, alkaloids, anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, tannins, saponins, hydroxycinnamic acids, organic acids, protein, an array of fatty acids, and the mucilaginous polysaccharaide component which includes rhamnose, galactose, galacturonic acid and glucuronic acid.

The protective quality of mallow has been demonstrated in a rat model of ethanol induced ulcerogenesis. The group given Malva neglecta extract 1.2 g. per kg (quite a bit of slime) showed almost complete visible and histological protection against ulcer formation.

Rats with carbon tetrachloride induced liver damage given 300 or 600 mg/kg of Malva neglecta extract showed reduced hepatic necrosis , and increased regeneration of hepatocytes.

Intraperitoneal injections of aqueous Malva neglecta extracts, 200 and 800 mg/kg, for 28 days in rats with ethylene glycol and ammonium chloride induced kidney stones showed reduced calcium oxalate deposits and tubule-interstitial damage. This held true for both preventative and curative regimens, with the high dose being most effective in either case.

Numerous in vitro assays have been carried out, demonstrating antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory activity of various fractions of Malva neglecta. Some anticholinesterase activity, and suppression of angiotensin converting enzyme has been detected in vitro. An array of in vitro tests shows wide ranging antimicrobial activity of various polar and non polar solvent extracts of this weed, suggesting that many compounds and multiple mechanisms contribute to the suppression of bacterial and fungal growth.

We have only scratched the surface of what might be supporting the numerous traditional uses of our little mallow weeds. More will follow when we cover their more cultivated relatives. Meanwhile you can begin to see what mallow will do for your diet, and for soothing your GI tract and throat. At Weedom, we have been adding it to a mouth rinse formula to work on the issue of receding gums. We leave you with an inspirational video from a veterinarian / naturopath who reports near miracle wound care results using mallow topically and internally. Check it out!

Lastly, even though you hear the agricultural extension services complaining that mallow is invasive, don’t spray it. If you pull some, drop some seeds. We are all going to need a lot of this wondrous weed in the near future. Other countries are using Malva species on an industrial scale, for sequestering soil and water contaminants.

Feel free to leave some comments, info, fun stuff, and please share Weedom with your friends.

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Where We Dig

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